| Charles Alexis de Tocqueville(1805-1859),famous French philosopher and political thinker,was honored as the pioneer Democracy ideologist.After the world warâ…¡,especially after the cold war,there was a revival of Tocqueville's theory and study,forming the "Tocqueville flow",which swept the whole world.This phenomenon proved Tocqueville's statement that the future may forget his political achievement,but it will certainly remember his theory.For various reasons,China was not keen on Tocqueville and his theory until the 1980s,when mainland China translated and published the only three works of Tocqueville: "Democracy in America","The Old Regime and the Revolution",and "Souvenirs." With the international "Tocqueville flow" and China's own Democratic ideology rising,the research of Tocqueville's theory shows multiple perspectives,including "Guide of the old regime and the Revolution" from Feng Tang and Zhang Li,"From American Democracy to French Revolution-Tocqueville and his work" from Zhang Min,and numerous other articles that referenced to Tocqueville and his theory.However,China's current study of Tocqueville is still in the preliminary stage,because of the lack of in-depth analysis of most of the studies as well as certain outdated topic selection,as most of them focused on history and sociology.The era of Tocqueville was after the French Revolution,when the democratic system just started to establish.The society then was in a turbulent situation and the regime changed frequently.As an aristocratic intellectual,Tocqueville felt anxious:the old system had ended yet the new one was still immature and everything was still in the haze.Where is the fate of France? Will the people get freedom and equality in the flow of history? With fear,doubt and worry,Tocqueville observed the trend of Democracy closely:Everyday,the history was driven forward by an irresistible power.Which way will the society choose,the Authoritarian direction,the Republic direction,or the Democratic direction?Maybe the conflict between Freedom and Democracy seems somewhat ridiculous to some scholars now,but it was an important topic at that time to choose between freedom and Democracy.As a staunch liberal,Tocqueville had deep concerns about democracy:"I do not love democracy......I am an advocate of freedom,that is the truth." Even so,he still accepted Democracy with an open mind and warm words,his whole life was dedicated to the research of Democracy and Freedom.Two major aspects were reflected in Tocqueville's theory of Democracy:First,the attitude to democracy and freedom,which was elaborated in "Democracy in America".His affirmative attitude towards democracy never changed.In his eyes,Democracy was an irresistible force,not only in his time,but also in future society;and it would continue to develop and improve.On the other hand,Democracy was not simply about "majority decision-making",not was it like today's political system,in which the core concept is liberalism and the main content includes representation,general election and competitive parties,with the goal of pursuing political equality.Rather,Tocqueville considered Democracy the equality in socioeconomic status,politics,customs and other aspects of life.While acknowledging Democracy's success,he had not forgotten to express his worries about the shortcomings of Democracy and the potential damage to freedom brought by potential tyranny.But the kind of freedom Tocqueville pursued must exist in a democratic society.Freedom under the system of old France was deemed as "irregular, ill-freedom" by Tocqueville;even the freedom in Britain before its democratization showed signs of great uncertainties.This explains why he gave up the research on the reputable British Liberalism,and instead took a long trip to America.His "Democracy in America" and "The old regime and the Revolution",though with different themes,explored the same topic from different angles:How to maintain freedom in a democratic society? Second,his attitude towards the old regime and the French Revolution was embodied in "The old regime and the Revolution." After he returned to Britain from America,he wrote a short article for the British public:"The French social and political situation before and after 1789".His other opinions can be found in his "Souvenirs".Tocqueville affirmed the rationality of the French Revolution. As a liberal,he even expressed his understanding to the autocratic centralization and its tools brought by the Revolution.He mourned over the fact that from the start of Revolution to 1848, there had never been a balance of power;in less than 60years,the full range of old system was restored completely;and all the disadvantages from old regime been succeeded and promoted. Tocqueville's ideal state of Democracy could not be achieved;instead,people lost more freedom.As a future-oriented ideologist,he missed the public atmosphere of freedom under the aristocratic system.He also criticized the Revolution,what he referred to as a massive catastrophe,for failing to bring freedom and equality under a democratic system.In the mainstream western politics,today is a time of "Democracy and Democratization"; but this is like a trap on the knowledge set by the ruling party,intentionally or unintentionally. Democracy in the contemporary western political science is based on empirical methods and is different from the concept of Tocqueville's.In China,a country ruled by authoritarian for thousands of years,people long for equality and freedom.The failure of Democracy and its negative impacts on society were being neglected or enlarged.Some people strongly tribute to Democracy,imaging it as a solution all problems.Others from the elite class,on the other hand,draw a conclusion of rejecting or resisting Democracy from the reflection of tyranny. Neither of them is the original intention of Tocqueville.The point of this dissertation is to restore the facts of Tocqueville's democratic theory with a neutral nature.His theory is seen as a society situation,with every citizen related to the national business to some degree.This dissertation consists of four parts:introduction,text,conclusion and gratitude. Introduction briefly introduces Tocqueville's life and the background of his democratic theory,its origin,and the reason why it had a hit then went down and became popular again. At the same time,the motivation,direction and purpose of this dissertation will be explained. The conclusion shows a positive outlook about the prospects of democracy in China.At the end,I will state my gratitude to everyone who once helped me in my study and creation of this dissertation.Part one of the text introduces the various components of Tocqueville's democracy:the idea of democracy in the political,social and other fields,such as international relations.It also points out the typical situation about studying Tocqueville:"Many people read him,only a few understand him."Part two of the text describes and analyses Tocqueville's idea of democracy by means of history analysis and comparison;it also criticizes those schools of ideology that distort and interpret Tocqueville's ideology with bias.By criticizing "Tocqueville" by "Tocqueville",the important meanings of reverting the essence of Tocqueville's Democracy are pointed out.Part three of the text combines Tocqueville's idea of democracy with the realities of China today.Some original thoughts about Chinese democracy in all fields will be expressed, including the relationship between democracy and the separation of powers,constitutional government and the administration of justice,and the relationship between democracy and political corruption,.This dissertation is based on the research findings at home and abroad,but the research is still relatively less sophisticated in China,and the introduction and translation of foreign-related research is also extremely limited,resulting in the limited information available.As a result,this dissertation may show some inaccurate opinions;I will appreciate any feedback and constructive criticism from the professors.
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